Ruth's Bonded (Ruth & Gron Book 1) by V.C. Lancaster Page A

her in other ways. He looked back up at the tree where he had left her,
but no. He would not disappoint her again, would not show her his shame again,
not until he could undo it and give himself as the male she wanted. He knew he
had to sleep with her in his arms again tonight. He just hoped she hadn’t
changed her mind by the time he got back.
    He began hunting for more reeds and
vines he could use in the building of their shelter. He could do much better
with the materials provided by the jungle at home, but he would make do, for
her. He kept his eye out for anything that they could eat as well, but so far
he had not found anything. He would have to find something soon. They should
move on soon as well, if they did not want to be caught again. They had not
gone far enough to be safe, and their captors would know to look for them near
water.
    Oh, but bringing her to water had
been rewarding. He had never seen anything like it. She was... beautiful. Where
he came from, the Queens were beautiful for their size, their strength, their
power. That was not Gruth. He could not explain why she was beautiful, had not
thought she was until then. The beauty of the Queens back home made a male
stand up. Gruth’s beauty brought him to his knees. She was like a small flower
that you found hidden beneath a leaf that you knelt down to see, or the birds
that stand in the water that take flight if you move even an inch. He could not
touch these things, usually. They existed outside of his world, his life. But
Gruth wanted his touch. The thought sent another tide of fire through his blood
as he thought of all the ways he might touch her and what she would feel like.
    He could see her bones, but it only
added to her beauty somehow, because he could see that it did not make her
weak. She was not sick. She was strong. When she played in the water, her arms
above her head, her breasts high and her back arched, that was the first time
he cursed his maleness for being still. She had asked for him then too. Knowing
she was ready but he was not was torture. If he could have willed his body to
hardness for her, he would have, even if it would not have produced offspring
for her. He desired her, like he had never desired anything.
    Why had he wasted time in their cell,
he accused himself. He should have started the Bonding then. He could have
already given himself to her if he had. He touched his lips where she had
pressed hers earlier. He did not know why she had done that. He wondered if she
would do it again.
    He went to the stream and drank more
water, hoping to cool the fire at least when he was not with her. He had been
distracted from drinking his fill when she had been before him.
    He must finish the platform in the
tree so they could sleep safely, and he must find food. If he brought food for
her, she might think he still had worth while they waited for him to become
primed.
    He searched for as long as he could,
as far as he could, but he did not want to go too far from her or leave her
alone too long. She was not from the trees. She might fall. And she could grow
cold without a pelt. Eventually he found a tree that sprouted nuts in a tight
bundle, and he folded as many as he could carry into a large leaf along with
the vines he needed and held the edges in his teeth so he could make his way
back to Gruth.
    When he dropped back onto the
platform he had yet to finish, Gruth was sitting safely by the trunk, knotted
up into a tight ball, which usually meant she was cold. She looked up when he
arrived with relief plain on her face. He went to her immediately to show her
the nuts he had found and to warm her if she would let him. She bared her teeth
in that strange way she had when he indicated that she should eat the nuts. His
tail twitched on the branch beside him as if it remembered how it had felt when
her tongue had just so barely touched his fur.
    She ate almost half of one of the
bundles before she looked at him and gestured that he should